Senate dispute endangers climate bill

[peejay 327]

Climate bill endangered by Senate dispute

Graham threatens to drop support over immigration politics

By MATTHEW DALY

The Associated Press

updated 8:02 p.m. CT, Sat., April 24, 2010

WASHINGTON - Long-awaited climate change legislation was put on hold by its authors Saturday when a dispute over immigration politics and Senate priorities threatened to unravel a bipartisan effort that took months of work.

Voicing regrets, Sen. John Kerry said Saturday he is postponing the much anticipated unveiling of comprehensive energy and climate change legislation scheduled for Monday. The Massachusetts Democrat made his announcement after a key partner in drafting the bill, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, threatened to withhold support if Senate Democratic leaders push ahead first with an immigration bill.

Graham is angry that Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is considering that. Legislation to overhaul immigration laws and grant legal status to millions of long term immigrants unlawfully in the country could create problems for Republicans in the midterm elections. It's a top priority for Hispanic voters — and most Republicans are opposed. Reid's idea amounts to a "cynical political ploy," Graham asserted.

Kerry tried to assure environmentalists and other backers of the climate bill that the delay will be short. The legislation aims to cut emissions of pollution-causing greenhouse gases 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. It also likely will expand domestic production of oil, natural gas and nuclear power.

"We all believe that this year is our best and perhaps last chance for Congress to pass a comprehensive approach," Kerry said in a statement. "Regrettably, external issues have arisen that force us to postpone only temporarily."

Kerry, Graham and Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman have spent more than six months working on the bill they had hoped to unveil Monday. White House energy adviser Carol Browner praised the three senators, reiterating that the Obama administration wants the energy and climate bill done this year.

Graham's threat to back away from the coalition came Saturday in a letter to Senate leaders.

He said putting immigration at the top of the legislative priority list would derail efforts to find common ground on climate change, a difficult issue involving critically important economic priorities. And he warned that Republican lawmakers would not take kindly to being put on the spot with Hispanics. Many in the Republican Party's political base are adamantly opposed to 'amnesty' for illegal immigrants.

"Moving forward on immigration — in this hurried, panicked manner — is nothing more than a cynical political ploy," Graham said. "Let's be clear, a phony, political effort on immigration today accomplishes nothing but making it exponentially more difficult to address in a serious, comprehensive manner in the future."

Kerry praised Graham's work on the climate legislation, saying the Republican "helped to build an unprecendented coalition of stakeholders from the environmental community and the industry who have been prepared to stand together behind a proposal."

Kerry said he deeply regrets that Graham "feels immigration politics have gotten in the way and for now prevent him from being engaged in the way he intended."

Lieberman also praised Graham's work, and said he's disappointed that "allegations of partisan politics will prevent us from introducing the bill on Monday as planned."

Pushing immigration ahead of climate legislation would disappoint and anger environmentalists, who see this as their best chance in recent years to pass a bill addressing global warming. But Reid told fellow Democrats this week he wants to pursue legislation that would offer legal status to many unlawful immigrants before tackling climate change.

Hispanics voted heavily Democratic in 2008, and they've been disappointed with President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for not following up on campaign promises to reform immigration laws. Reid is up for re-election this year and trailing in polls in Nevada, where Latinos are an important constituency. With Democrats facing a tough political climate in the midterm elections, energized Hispanic voters could make a difference in several states.

In a statement Saturday that was both conciliatory and noncommittal, Reid said he is committed to passing both immigration and energy this year.

"Immigration and energy reform are equally vital to our economic and national security and have been ignored for far too long," he said.

Both measures will require bipartisan support, Reid said, "and energy could be next if it's ready." Comprehensive immigration reform requires significant committee work that has not yet begun, he noted.

Reid said he appreciates Graham's work on both issues, but added: "I will not allow him to play one issue off of another, and neither will the American people. They expect us to do both, and they will not accept the notion that trying to act on one is an excuse for not acting on the other."

A spokesman said Reid would continue to consult with Kerry on building bipartisan support for a climate bill.

The House last year narrowly passed a bill creating a system to cap emissions blamed for global warming, but has not acted on immigration. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long said the Senate must vote before the House on an immigration bill.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36760308

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The hell with making illegals legal. How about helping those who are trying to do the process legally? Great idea, reward all those who break the law. Let's all stop paying taxes and see if the IRS gives us a free pass.

[peejay 327]

The hell with making illegals legal. How about helping those who are trying to do the process legally? Great idea, reward all those who break the law. Let's all stop paying taxes and see if the IRS gives us a free pass.

I'm beginning to wonder what the priorities of these politicians are. Here we have US unemployment hovering around 10% with many economists stating that it will be possibly years before it gets back down to pre-recession levels and these idiots seem to be anally obsessed with illegal alien issues. HELLO! Do these idiots work for the American people or are their priorities with illegal aliens?

No wonder Americans are disgusted with their government.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Why are the Republican so anally obsessed with the Dems seeking amnesty?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Everyone who has obeyed the immigration laws should be in an uproar over this. We get shafted and the rule breakers get a free pass? ** that.

[Ban Hammer 14,371]

Why are the Republican so anally obsessed with the Dems seeking amnesty?

why are the dems so anally obsessed with amnesty?

[peejay 327]

why are the dems so anally obsessed with amnesty?

Millions of future votes from amnestied illegal aliens that tend to be dependent on government provided social services. It hasn't taken the Dumbocrats long to discover that the recipients of the 7 other illegal alien amnesties since 1986 tend to overwhelmingly vote for them. Sleazy as it sounds...that is what it is all about.

No wonder more and more Americans are disgusted with their government and don't like the direction the country is heading.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah "more and more Americans are disgusted with their government and don't like the direction the country is headed". Yet they do nothing about it, except argue endlessly over mundane lunacy like birth certificates and the latest verbal gaffe from Joe Biden.

Nothing changes.

[justashooter 430]

Millions of future votes from amnestied illegal aliens that tend to be dependent on government provided social services. It hasn't taken the Dumbocrats long to discover that the recipients of the 7 other illegal alien amnesties since 1986 tend to overwhelmingly vote for them. Sleazy as it sounds...that is what it is all about.

No wonder more and more Americans are disgusted with their government and don't like the direction the country is heading.

they have to do it before this november's elections, which will be a wholesale slaughter of democratic congressmen. hence the rush to action.

[Pooky 3,880]

Why are the Republican so anally obsessed with the Dems seeking amnesty?

Because this country overwhelmingly opposes it, yet the Democrats want to push it through in a hurry, in spite of public opinion (again). Good enough?

The American system is supposed to be a representative democracy. So why are Democrats so unrepresentative?

[Pooky 3,880]

Yeah "more and more Americans are disgusted with their government and don't like the direction the country is headed". Yet they do nothing about it, except argue endlessly over mundane lunacy like birth certificates and the latest verbal gaffe from Joe Biden.

Nothing changes.

But that's where you're wrong. When BushBaby tried it, the public outcry was enough to make him back down. Only problem is, the Democrats stand to benefit more from this supposed "reform" and are likely to push it through no matter what public opinion might be.

The outcry will come, just as it did over the content of the healthcare "reform" sham. The problem is whether the Democrats will listen, or whether they will show themselves to be even shallower and more arrogant than the Republicans were (which is saying something).

The people aren't the problem here. The politicians are.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

If the people elect the politicians, then they are ultimately responsible for the state of things.

This issue never gets resolved in a conclusive way because a lot of people are frankly lazy and despite bellyaching about illegal immigration, terrorism and civil rights of what have you they are ultimately content to be ruled than take responsibility for themselves.

[Pooky 3,880]

If the people elect the politicians, then they are ultimately responsible for the state of things.

This issue never gets resolved in a conclusive way because a lot of people are frankly lazy and despite bellyaching about illegal immigration, terrorism and civil rights of what have you they are ultimately content to be ruled than take responsibility for themselves.

If the people elected politicians on a single policy issue, this country would go to hell in a handbasket faster than you could blink. So you can quit oversimplifying things, it does you no credit.

The Democrats had success in the 2008 elections, because the Republicans were the greater of two evils. This so-called "immigration reform" effort was an unavoidable consequence of changing government. The problem now is that the Democrats have a set agenda and nothing, not public opinion or (the lack of decent) political opposition will sway their minds on this. Contrast this with the Bush immigration reform effort. The groundswell of public opinion and opposition when he tried it was sizeable and, in the end, successful. It will happen again. The question is whether the Democrats will listen to it the way Bush did.

Personally, I don't think they will. And if immigration "reform", which the country doesn't need and doesn't want, is passed, the ramifications will make the mess that is healthcare "reform" pale into insignificance.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

If I remember correctly, neither of the major party candidates put immigration reform front and center of their campaign platforms.

[Pooky 3,880]

If I remember correctly, neither of the major party candidates put immigration reform front and center of their campaign platforms.

But both of them had it in their platform. So we'd be looking down the barrel of this issue, even if Uncle Fester had won.